SIXTEENTH CENTURY
Background
Prior to the 16th century plague had spread all over Europe and devastated many populations. Disease was thought to be controlled by God and scientific theories were just starting to be explored. People viewed illness as more of a divine punishment rather than anything due to biology.
The effects of the black plague left a profound impact on how people perceived the world. People felt that death caused by the plague was inevitable. They became more pessimistic towards society and began to lose all hope in survival. People also started losing faith in their religion, leading to more of a separation between the church. Their negative view on life left an impression on art. Art during this time seemed to have a common subject of death and destruction. The plague not only infected people, but also animals. As the plague spread, famine seemed to follow. The peak of the black death was from 1346-1353, but outbreaks of this pandemic reoccurred up until the 18th century.In the 1500s the plague had been around for about two centuries, but medical treatment was only just beginning to be explored. |
Renaissance |
The Renaissance (late 14th century to mid 17th century) helped contribute to medical discoveries because people began to stray from traditional practices and began to conduct their own experiments. After the middle ages and the destruction caused by the plague many people lost faith in the church and began to depend less on religion for an explanation for everything. People began to question the world around them more and began to look for the answers themselves.
The Renaissance was a cultural and intellectual revival that began in Italy. There was a new appreciation for the arts as artists began exploring different subject matter. In the middle ages art seemed to share a common obsession with death because of the impact of the plague and the hopelessness felt by the people, but by the Renaissance that was changing. One belief that sparked the Renaissance was humanism which broke from medieval traditions and emphasized secularism. People had a more materialistic view on the world and were concerned with enjoying life and all its pleasures. This new perspective also glorified unlimited human potential. Humanism led to people looking for ways to improve their own lives and health by using practical experiments. The freedom of the Renaissance led people to explore new discoveries in science and medicine, especially through dissection of cadavers. By seeing for themselves what human physiology looks like, they were able to use that as a basis for later research and experiments. Through direct observation they were able to learn how the body works, which helped develop medical treatment into something more effective. The Renaissance was also a time of economic growth and trade. Traveling and trading with foreign countries brought culture, new resources, profits, but also disease. Trade with the Middle East and Asia brought Europe new herbs that could be used as remedies for certain illnesses. |
Common Diseases |
Three Forms of the Plague
Other Diseases
Disease was often imported and exported through trade and traveling. European exploration also infected nations in the New World with disease, especially small pox, influenza and measles which took the lives of many natives. Many Europeans attributed disease to the Americas.
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Treatments |
Medicine and treatment during most of the Black Death was hard to come by. The disease was highly contagious and could be transmitted just by breathing the same air. Doctors began taking precautions to try to avoid getting ill. Plague Doctors wore large masks with a bird-like beak to avoid breathing infected air. They also wore long capes and hats to avoid contact even more.
Some of the tactics of the Plague Doctors included:
Many of the early techniques of the Plague Doctors were highly ineffective and did not make a difference in the quality of life for the people. As the outbreaks of the plague decreased, people had more of an opportunity to stray from the traditional practices.
Discoveries Made During the Renaissance
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(the link above is more of a visual and interactive look at the beginning and rise of the plague)